Chapter 39

“No way. Because I can tell. That you could never become that kind of relationship.”

“What are you basing that certainty on?”

“Don’t you know that better than anyone?”

The demon guarding Iris’ side had already figured out his intentions.

Frey thought it absurd that a demon destined to eventually perish at Iris’s hands would say such things, yet he deeply felt his own reality: coming to find Iris just to strip away her freedom.

“Priest, please tell me so that I can completely trust you. Why did you come to find me?”

Because of that, Frey could not immediately answer Iris’ question.

Why he had come here, what his true reason for approaching Iris was…

It was because he couldn’t find the courage to tell her the truth.

If he told her, “It wasn’t my will, I truly wanted to become your family,” would Iris accept him?

‘No way…’

Frey couldn’t bring himself to believe that at all.

And at the same time, he felt foolish for trying to cast aside his destiny as a guide and seek out a life of his own.

‘If only I had never harbored such feelings.’

Why on earth had he ever dreamed of a normal person’s life? Knowing full well it was a dream that could never come true.

And of all things, a dream of being together with the living Goddess…

A crushing sense of helplessness weighed down on Frey like a boulder, bringing back the words he had once heard from the Grand Priest.

“Grand Priest, why do I live?”

“You were born for the destiny you bear. Therefore, you live to fulfill it.”

The despair that no matter how much he struggled, he could never escape those words pressed down on him heavy as stone.

“…I can’t tell you.”

In the end, Frey failed to answer Iris and fled from her side.

Yet, even if he ran away right now, where would he ultimately end up…?

Should he follow his destiny, or should he cast it aside and continue playing at a ridiculous family game?

It was a fork in the road he would eventually have to choose.

***

“…I can’t tell you.”

After hesitating for a long time, Frey’s eventual reply shattered my heart.

“Why?”

I asked once more. Because I didn’t want to believe the answer Frey had given me.

Right before my eyes, the absolute worst scenario I could have imagined was playing out in reality.

The second-worst scenario would have been Frey telling an obvious, transparent lie to my face.

But perhaps, if Frey had just said something—even if it were a lie—I might have been able to trust him. Truly, if he had just said anything…

Yet Frey’s response that he couldn’t reveal the truth to me trampled upon that infinite trust.

‘I just needed an excuse to trust you, that was all.’

I hung my head in silence.

I couldn’t think of a single thing to say to Frey.

“…I’m sorry.”

Leaving behind that brief apology, Frey vanished from before my eyes as if running away. His hurried footsteps felt as though he were being chased by something.

I remained motionless, pulling my knees up and sitting right there on the ground.

‘Did I ask for too much? What if this was something I didn’t even need to know?’

What if I hadn’t asked? What if I hadn’t obsessed over why Frey had come to the orphanage?

I knew it was useless to dwell on it now. But looking back at the footsteps already left behind and feeling regret was an inescapable human instinct.

As I sat crouched, staring endlessly at the dirt ground, someone’s shadow appeared in my field of vision.

“What are you doing here?”

“Theo…”

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Now that I thought about it, there was something I was supposed to hear from Theo, too.

Yet, unable to even remember what that was, I blankly called out Theo’s name.

Theo sat down facing me and said, “Did you want to trust that priest that badly? To the point of making such a tearful face?”

“……”

Although his voice sounded somewhat cold at first glance, the gaze he fixed upon me was filled with worry.

“What on earth did he say to you?”

At those words, I shook my head. If he had at least said something hurtful…

“I didn’t learn anything.”

“You didn’t learn anything?”

“I asked the priest why he came here. I thought that if I knew, I’d be able to trust him with a light heart.”

“And he didn’t say a word. Is that it?”

When I nodded, Theo took hold of my hand. Then he guided me away from the dirt ground and toward a spot with chairs.

“He was someone who shouldn’t have been here in the first place. Just think of him as having vanished just like he suddenly appeared, and forget about him.”

“If you put it that way, there isn’t a single person who was originally by my side. How can I act like someone I’ve already met just vanished?”

Though he had appeared out of nowhere, Frey had somehow become someone precious to me. Pretending those memories had never existed was impossible.

As I mumbled on and on, the tears I’d been holding back finally burst forth.

I buried my face in my palms, trying to muffle the sobs leaking out.

“Don’t cry. Time will fix it eventually.”

It meant that time would heal things in the end. A cliché, but destined to be the correct answer.

“You know you’ve changed since meeting that priest, right?”

“What do you mean?”

I pulled my hands away from my face and met Theo’s eyes.

“You used to be bright, you smiled a lot, and you talked just as much. But ever since you met that priest, you haven’t even been able to smile properly.”

“……”

“It just means that priest ended up leaving you with nothing but worries. Just resent him. Were you blaming yourself alone again, like always?”

Theo’s prediction hit the mark without a single flaw.

And realizing that I had instinctively tried to shoulder the blame for this situation yet again, my head cleared just a little.

‘He led you on, made you trust him to the fullest, and then failed to take responsibility—that’s on him. You just… hoped for too much.’

I stared blankly into Theo’s eyes.

‘Just how long has Theo known about my situation to be comforting me like this?’

Of course, Theo’s comfort was appropriate and deeply appreciated. But unable to hold back my curiosity, I asked, “How do you know my situation so well?”

At my question, Theo fell silent for a moment. Then, stepping closer as if about to impart a profound secret, he said, “Actually…”

***

A faint smile hovered at the corners of Theo’s mouth as he comforted Iris with a certain degree of sincerity. This was a vastly advantageous situation for him.

“Remember our very first lesson? You stepped away because you ran out of ink, and I was left alone with that priest.”

At that time, Frey had said this to Theo: “I can sense divine power. Which means the reverse is also possible. You kids aren’t called angels and demons simply because of your appearances. I can actually feel a truly foul demon dwelling inside your body.”

“Nonsense.”

“Then what is Iris? It means she is a being you dare not keep by your side. I came here to guide her and take her away.”

“Then it seems you’ve come to the wrong place.”

Up until that moment, Theo hadn’t paid any mind to whatever Frey was rambling about. He had simply figured it was just another crazy thing spouted by someone deranged with religious fanaticism.

However, the words Frey uttered next had thrown Theo into a brief state of panic.

“You’re trying hard to pretend you don’t know, but you already realize it too. There’s no way you, sticking by her side every day, haven’t noticed her unconsciously using divine power.”

“……”

Theo recalled the time not long after he had first met Iris.

“No. If anything, the condition is great. It looked like a deeply torn wound earlier, but it seems to have healed quite a bit in that short span of time.”

“Healed?”

“This is all because I blew it better! You better hurry up and thank me.”

Back then, they had glossed over it vaguely, but everyone present knew that something magical had happened. They simply hadn’t put it into words.

“If you’re not feeling well, why don’t you take the day off?”

“No. Sorry for making you worry. I’ve just got a few things on my mind.”

“Things on your mind?”

“I’ve been having strange dreams lately.”

As one memory after another bubbled to the surface, Theo felt as if his throat were being choked, cutting off his air.

The strange dreams Iris had been having were all about an unknown voice—the Goddess telling her to accept her destiny.

Whenever Iris mentioned having dreams like that, Theo had struggled with how to reply. Because he desperately wished that what he imagined wouldn’t come true.

“Judging by your face, I must have hit the mark.”

“……”

“So back off. No matter how much you struggle, you’re ultimately destined to perish by her hands.”

“What are you going to do if I tell Iris all of this? Weren’t you trying to look good in front of Iris?”

Frey had let out a dismissive, mocking laugh.

“You won’t tell her.”

Theo remembered Frey’s laugh from back then. He could still recall that exact feeling with vivid clarity.

So he figured it was fine to return a fraction of that humiliation back to Frey.

“He told me that back then. …That he came to destroy me, the demon, and to tear away from my side the very person who had drawn me, the demon, out into the light.”

A quiet sense of amusement laced Theo’s voice as he spoke those words.